Quick over view of what to expect from the Z96 Dimmable DSLR LED Video light that everyone is raving about. As of now, since it’s fairly new, it might run you about $20 dollars more than the 126 LED lights. I personally think that $20 dollar difference is well worth it, considering you’d be buying a $400 dollar unit similar to this from the brand names.

The Z96 carries many of the same features that make the 126 very popular. Dimmable lighting, multiple battery sources, LED technology, and cheap cheap cheap. Originally LED video lights were hitting the streets for over $400 dollars, so even thought this is NOT as cheap as the 126, it’s still a bargain you can’t complain about.

It’s smaller, but feels more solid than the 126 LED video light. Smaller is nicer since it doesn’t take up bag space. Too much spotlight is offending to your subject, so it’s very nice that the LED’s on the Z96 (even without the diffusion panel) work better than the 126 LED. The adjustable shoe mount neck is a much better design as well. Not as tall, but definitely solid enough to keep from adjusting off position. I like everything about the Z96 and the additional price I feel is well worth it. The 126 has been a solid performer for me and I currently own 3 of them still in use today. I haven’t thrown the Z96 around as much so we’ll have to hear about the long term durability. For now when i’m ready to work, this Z96 is the one LED video light i’ll always grab first.

I ordered mine on july 23. it shipped july 26, I got it today, august 3. Pretty fast. (I’m in NYC)
I forgot to get batteries. so now I’m waiting on those. It’s nice. I can’t believe they’re selling these for $296.
Thanks Cheesy dude..

This blog has really only been updated in the last 4 months, and it’s great to see people sharing ideas on saving money where you can. I’m trying to work on getting more brand names on board with this website, so we’ll see how it goes. Most of the stuff I’m buying is for myself to use on gigs, so it works out to do reviews too.

I’d be curious to know, for those that have received theirs, if someone could put a meter on it and see how close the color temp is, or what it is, with the gels on. It claims 5600/3200. Is that even close?

Do you happen to have any experience with the battery life of the z96 compared to the 126? I am working on a production with some night shots and we plan to put a couple of these on stands. As such, it would be a pain to bring the lights down to switch out the batteries. Do you know which light would run longer on its highest setting?

They use the same amount of batteries, but because the 96 has less LED’s i’m ‘assuming’ the 96 would last longer. I’d have to test, but I think the 96 will work. Oh I believe the z96 has a DC adapter option? I’ll check when I get home, but I thought I saw it can run off of DC power too. Correct, here’s the specs:

Z96 is much better quality, I have another LED light which same as the Sony light but costed way less. Its a China brand but a good one especially can see they spend more on the packaging. There should be one more LED panel from China cause when I was in Hong Kong I saw a LED lightpanel but was able to put the hot shoe on different places so the lightpanel could either be fitted horizontal or vertical.

Great review, I’m very interested in getting some of these. I’m a photographer getting into videography, so right now I only have strobes and I’ve been using the modeling light (either 150w or 250w) in a softbox as a continuous light source but lugging around a power pack and moderately large strobe head is a pain. Has anyone tried this (or other) LED lights in a softbox or with an umbrella? Either by itself or with multiple lights combined? The light output doesn’t need to be really high, most of the video I’ve been shooting is in smaller dimly lit rooms with subject distances of 5′ – 10′ (most often in the 5′ – 6′ range), ISO 400 – ISO 800, f2.8 – f4, 1/60th. Would the diffusion panel that comes with this light soften and spread the light enough to not need a softbox?

I don’t think a softbox would be wise. It would cut out too much light. These have really good diffusion as it is, but maybe the best route for you is to make a larger panel using 3 x 3 (6 total lights). You would get a larger softer more diffused source without suffering loss of light.

Hi Emm, I ordered this Z96 LED light and have some trouble with it. 1st thing I noticed is that the LEDs don’t have the same color. Some of them are white, some yellow and some blue. Is this normal? Next, when I twist the power dial from it’s minimum to it’s maximum the light gets brigher but after passing half the way it gets darker again. The 3rd problem that I have is really annoying: the light starts to flicker after a while! This ruins all my shots. Also when it started flickering I can adjust the “flicker-speed” by turning the dial. So after a while my LED light is a strobeand not a video light any more. Did you make the same experience with your LED lights?

Several people have already been purchasing these from my links. There’s probably hundreds out there on the street in use. You can choose to buy the one that cost $300 dollars if you feel more comfortable.

@jonni led lighting does not behave the same way as incandescent lighting in that it is not possible to just put a potentiometer on one to control brightness, at least not for very long. PWM (pulse width modulation) is the way these lights are dimmed which basically regulates the voltage by rapidly turning the current off and on. Point being it sounds like you are seeing the pulse from the lights which in turn means it’s pulsing very slowly. Could very well be that the pwm circuit is not working correctly, but it could also be your power source is inadequate.

Very true, many other pros show off their expensive ones to me and say how well it works. Then I tell them I just use this and it’s less than $70 bucks, you should see their faces. LOL. It really is quite good and comparable with features to lights more than 5 times the price.

Good to see your test of the 96 vs the 126 lamps. I agree the 126 vignettes the test image but you don’t say at what focal length this test was taken. Few camcorders go out to 28mm (equivalent) and most struggle to make 32mm as a wide-angle. My tests of the 126 show it gives fine coverage at these focal lengths.

BTW, the 160 LED lamp has improved on the coverage, got rid of the slight green tinge and strengthened up that silly adjustable foot.

I was at 24mm on a 5D Mark II. The 126 and 160 i’m sure gives nice coverage, but is still much heavier than the Z96. The body design is still not up to par with the Z96 also. For me, I like the smaller form factor but it does run higher in cost. All three are good options.

Bought one. Arrived with 4 leds not working and all flicker and got out after few seconds. Junk. Would like to return but I had it shipped to a US mail service which brings it into Mexico (where I live), I pay the import duty, and it comes to me with extra shipping costs. So my $70 turns into an extra $25. Now to return it will cost me $ and then to get it back into Mexico another $25. Rig seems cheap to me. I’m disappointed. From my experience, I would recommend a NO BUY.

No I’m not a competitor. I’m a guy who is going to use DSLRs to make videos to support his sustainable ag buisness. Here’s my site: soildoctor.org. I can even email you pics of the light with 4 LEDs not working. I guess I’ve got a dud but others should know that its possible.

Further to my note above – I have emailed the seller Greenlife to let them know of my problems. If they respond and can figure out an economical way from my end to deal with them I’d be more than happy to post a follow-up here. I can understand the odd product not working. The next step will be to see how the seller can resolve it.

I bought four and have been very happy with these units. The flicker problem does occur but this is happens as the battery power drops. When your batteries are fresh you get a constant light source that works at either 1/48, 1/60th, and 1/125th, depending on your frame rate of course. If for some reason you need a shutter speed above 1/320th you will see bars from the PWM dimming circuit. I intend to run the light from an external 12 volt source which seems to completely eliminate any flicker issues.

Just plugged in my brand spanking new Z96 and after about 15mins it began making popping sounds. The light seems to be ok and all the leds are still working but it is a little disconcerting. There was a slight smell to the unit after the popping but i’m not sure if this was due to regular use. Has anyone else had this problem or know what is happening?

Ordered the Z96 after seeing the video review here. Great light for the money. Works well with my Sony NP-F970 battery and can run for hours. Has a slight whine when not at full power, dimmed about half way. The clip-on diffuser/warming gel works really well. Also, can confirm the flicker when your battery power starts to reach its end, as others have posted here. Other than that, great deal. Thanks for the great find.

Make sure your using Quality NiMh batteries as some of the flickering maybe due to that.
Cheaper NiMH batteries have a shorter life curve, and provide less capacity after being recharged.
Some lose their maximum charge after 200 charges.

I just bought two of these and they ROCK! Nice and small, well built and quite powerful. Much better value for money than the small Litepanel one. Be careful, though, when the batteries get low, the frequency of the light changes and they “flicker” at a rate that the camera doesn’t like (I’m not explaining this in tech terms as I don’t understand it but…). Essentially, there is a flicker when the battery is low that is invisible to the eye but when i was shooting at 30th of sec it showed up on camera. Other than that, excellent little light.

hmmm… this is very interesting. What is the average usage time everyone is getting before it flicker? I have two Z96 and they flicker less than 1:30 hour. I tried over 20+ Eneloop batteries purchased from Costco. I haven’t tried different battery brands yet, maybe is my Eneloop or the Z96. I tested those batteries with a battery tester, and they seem to be fully charged.

The flickering is caused by the voltage. Since these have dimmer switches, they need the correct full voltage. If the batteries are weak, you will notice it. Get better batteries if you are using just standard alkaline. We are all using Eneloops.

I’m using that Z96 light with a 550d and 50mm 1.4 lens. When I have it at almost full power in a low light room, at 1/50th f2.8 24fps, I can see lines strobing on the wall caused from the light. But it seems to only show up in the video, and not when I’m just looking at the wall with my own eyes.

Ordered one of these after shooting at some darker than usual weddings and realizing that I need a light! Just got mine in the mail today, seems pretty good and solid, strong magnets and good light. Beats paying light panels prices, thanks Emm!

Softboxes would do more harm than good. The light is probably already as best diffused as possible without losing too much light power. To get a softer source, you would just stack them together. The more broad the source of light, the softer it will be on the subject.

I have the 160 led light. I tried using everready nimh rechargable batteries. Not bright, seemed some of the AA’s would have a low voltage when checking with a voltmeter. It is best to use a charger that has individual charging circuits for each battery. You need a good charger and they are not cheap.

My 160 led light was a lot brighter when I used 6 AA alkaline batteries, which will put out 1.5 volts x 6 = 9 volts when new as compared to 6 nimh AAs which are rated at 1.2 volts each x 6 = 7.2 volts not 9.

Check each battery separately with a voltmeter (harbor freight sells them for $3.00 or so) if you have the flickering problem to eliminate the battery from the problem loop.

I just built a light tent the size of the popular PVC one online. It’s covered with a layer of cheap bedsheets. A friend of mine is start a cheap jewelery business and wanted some sample shots for his website.

I thought the Z96’s would be cooler in both color and heat temperature, and serve as an alternate source of continuous light for other shoots. At that price, it seems more tempting than a flash (which I already own).

@Franklin – A Z96 might be able to light up a small ring through a tent, but if you have a place where you’re doing this all the time, you might want to just go with FLO’s from Home Depot. Not as hot as tungsten or halogen and let off a more Diffused light than LED’s. Also it’s cheap. I have only purchased the Z96 from the one seller, but looks like others are getting the same version now.

Excellent post, I feel like I’m late to the party though as the Z96 links are no longer working. Literally yesterday I bought a flashpoint 112 LED for around 80$. Come to realize there’s no other power option besides the 5AA batteries, and no easy way to attach a gel/diffuse.

I almost bought 2 more of them to create a 3 light setup, but then I found your site. I would love to try the Z96 as a 3 light setup but can’t find them anymore.

Any suggestions as to where I could get them would be greatly appreciated.

It looks like these are the same units sold by lcd4video.com for about $250. I ordered mine a week ago from china for $71.90 with free shipping and I can’t wait to get it. Trying to be patient. I was about to buy the $250 unit before I saw this article… of course I would have had it by now, and that may have been worth an extra $200.

I also ordered one of these and am curious about the comment I recall on using a Canon lp-e6 battery with them. I have extras of those and would prefer that to buying Sony batteries which have no other use for me. Can anyone tell me how they use the Canon batteries with this light? Is there an adapter plate available – I couldn’t find one via search. Thanks. Love your site Emm, I’m now a regular visitor.

I just bought two of these in Beijing today! I went to the Wukesong photo market and got 2 for $180, and this included two lion camera batteries that power both of them and two chargers. I also got a free handle with them. Pretty nice deal if you ask me! If any of you are ever in Beijing you should check out the photo store in Wukesong.

How does this light stack-up against the ever so popular Rotolight 48? Price is approximately the same. The key difference that I see is the power output of 50W on the Rotolight vs 7W on the Z96 (as laid out on its ebay page).

Also, it is hard to believe that the Rotolight gets so much out of just 3 AA batteries compared to 5 AA’s as needed in the Z96.

I am aware that the Rotolight does not have the dimmer (potentiometer), although, it does come with a selection of filters that are very easy to add on. Also, there is enough evidence that the dimmer on the Z96 has a problem and introduces flicker.

With that in the backdrop I would like to have some feedback on how these two compare. Thanks.

The Z96 light I ordered from YESPAINTING ultimately failed to arrive after 50 days. They eventually gave me a tracking number, but the status still remains as: Preparing for shipment

I got a refund, but I’m seeing neutral and negative feedback about Z96 lights on other vendor’s listings. Is there a shortage? Is it now worth $100 (along with a good chance it will never arrive, or arrive broken)??

Got my Z96 last week. With Duracell 2450 mAh NiMH AA’s I’m getting only 25 mins before permant flicker sets in at full power. Are Eneloops any better?

Also, was hoping that Sony M series LiION batteries would also fit on the L series attachment, as I have a few M’s plus charger from my old Sony DV cam. But no such luck. Anyone know of an ‘M to L series’ adapter plate that could be used ?

Thanks a lot for the video !
Just a stupid question about the flickering issue : from what I understand, this is not linked with the Z96 itself, but with the technology & hardware involved ?
In other words : I guess every LED video light on the market (including the 126 LED) will have the same issue ?

Reference to my earlier post (#98). Found Sony L series plate can be modified to take M series batteries. Just requires taking a few mm off one pair of the securing keys (closest to the battery compartment latch). With an NP-FM50 the Z96 was still going strong, with no flicker, after 1.25 hours – not that I’d use it for that long at a stretch. Great little light. I also like the convenience of being able to slip other gels behind the magnetic diffuser plate.

I’m hoping someone can help me out here? I ordered one of these from Greenlife and just have a question about it. I’m hoping someone can help as I don’t see a mention of this anywhere else!

I seem to get an extended and unwanted strobe effect when trying to use this as a constant light as bright as it will go, I’ll try to explain:

My goal is to get a constant light as bright as I can, no flashing or strobing. Once the light gets into the strobe effect the actual light doesn’t get brighter, it just strobes faster etc, I want that level of brightness but as a constant light with no strobing. So I turn the dial down until it stops strobing and the light is the same level as brightness as the strobe setting, so now the light seems constant/solid but only thing is that after a few minutes it will strobe once (not a flicker, a quick flash, just 1 strobe, quickly off and on etc) which ruins shots.

This basically means I can’t use the light as a proper light source at the brightest setting becuase it will strobe once after a few minutes…

I’m sorry, I’m such a newb! You mean those Eneloop batteries right? I’ve never seen those in my life and I’m not even sure I can get them in Australia. I could get some online but I’d much prefer to buy some test batteries locally first just to determine that my unit isn’t faulty.

So the question for me is: Can I get another type of stronger battery for testing first? If so, what kind should I get?

So what were you suggesting then if not the Sony batteries? Should I basically just try better brand batteries like Duracell or Energizer then? They have some pretty snazzy ones out these days that I’ve seen at the supermarket!

@brake – Those energizer and duracell are still alkaline batteries which only work for so long. If you can’t get the Eneloops, I would just invest in a good li-ion battery like the Sony and you should be good.